LivinginBrno

As an expat mom raising my children in the Czech Republic, I have discovered several invaluable tools that have greatly supported me throughout this parenting journey. Three specific tools that have been particularly helpful are Edookit, Google Translate, and a Notes program. Allow me to share my experiences with each of these tools and how they have assisted me in overcoming the unique challenges of raising children in a foreign country. Edookit: Edookit has been a lifesaver when it comes to staying connected with my children's school and keeping track of their academic progress. As an expat mom, navigating the Czech education system can be daunting, but Edookit has simplified the process. With its online gradebooks, attendance tracking, and assignment updates, I can easily stay informed about my children's performance and engage in meaningful conversations with their teachers. What I appreciate most about Edookit is its seamless communication features. Whether it's messag...

I realised that one important detail that we never mentioned here but we do regularly are our outdoor walks and hikes. There is no better time for us to spend than going outdoors. The one thing I do regularly as physical movement are the daily walks. At the weekend we take longer hikes and make it interesting by adding stops, nature games, small treasure hunts, just play hide and seek or admire the plants and nature in general. What better way to spend the time. SO, the idea came to keep the journal of our hikes here also, as sometimes I need to remember some routes and having them saved in one place would be nice, rather than on my files which are not well kept in one place organised. Trying to put together the details and information is a good idea also because many families with children usually love spending times outdoors. As foreigners here, finding information about various routes and hikes really takes some time, I spend a few 1-2h every week to plan our next hike. It might see...

During the last weeks and months we work a lot on the homework with our 1st grader. In case there is interest, I will be posting a short overview of how we deal with the tasks and why in my case is a struggle. As we progress, these might become monthly or weekly posts. I also hope to keep the memory of our homework activities for us but for the other two kids who will need it when the time comes. Traveling with your kid through primary schools seems to be fun, when you cannot fluently speak the local language. I never imagined the hard part, only the bright and funny moments were flying through my imagination. Of course, when we hear him read to us and do the math, we are happy and overwhelmed with pride like any other parent is. But, there are also hard moments especially at the beginning. The first day of school here in Czech Republic seems to me a little different than in our home country. In our country people tend to put too much emotion, or show too much sentiment and crying even...

 The emotion and happiness we felt at the beginning of this school year was overwhelming and although we did not write it here on the blog, it really happened. The big day came and it brought us lots of joy. Our son joined 1st class and he was thrilled about school. In our area, we could enrol him very close to the kindergarten, so for me is a plus that they are in proximity. The joy was expressed from day one, he was very happy and still is. He is coping well with all the school tasks and is making progress every day. About the madness of doing homework with a 1st grader when I have no idea of the Czech language, I will probably write a different post. Although, maybe I am the only non-czech speaking expat mom who knows to whom it may benefit such post. I will think about it. After almost two months of school here are some of our views and opinions about school here: - state school system is quite decent and offers a lot, actually all necessary learning materials; - the canteen ha...